Monthly Archives: June 2012

Links of the week #25

Posted on by
4

Happy weekend folks!! Boom, bang look at all those cool links for writers. Jeff took another week off from picking out great music. Not to worry, SYTYCD had loads of fabulous performance I wanted to share this week, so which one was my favorite?

Mommy Ninja

K.B. Owen via Jenny Hansen’s More Cowbell : A Ninja Mom’s Guide to Limiting Computer Time <–must read for any parent

Pitch Contest

Brenda Drake: Entangle an editor with your pitch!

Dialogue

Lynnette Labelle : The Secrets Behind Buried Dialogue Part 2 take away tip: can can bury narration, but not dialogue…read the post and the tip will make sense 🙂

Descriptions

Stina Lindenblatt over at Seeing Creative provided a cool idea : All In The Details

Character Development

Kristen Lamb : Making Heroes Heroic–Why Flaws are Important

Prose

Joe Bunting over at The Write Practice : 5 Elements of Storytelling

Plot

Darcy Pattison over at Fiction Notes : End of Act I: 5 Functions Determine Plot

Editing

Tiffany Lawson Inman was at Writers In The Storm yesterday 😀 : Worse Than a Cliché

Writer Business

Rick Carufel at Angie’s Diary : Disappearing Reviews at Amazon?

Writer’s Life

Suzanne Rock, Romance on a Budget: Budget Creativity: Using Mini-Goals to Motivate

Michael J. Scott at Author Culture : How To Write More…and More Often

I’ve completely fallen for @smoulderingsea and his #editortips, if you miss the daily tweets you can still catch them on his blog. Here is my fav from yesterday: When editing down backstory and inner monologue, keep only what the reader needs–not what you needed to sort your story.

Dance to inspire

So many great performances this week as SYTYCD season 9 revealed their top 20. This performance was by far my fav, enjoy

What you might have missed here:
Six Sentence Sunday #23
Spotlight: The Wager (Touch of the Gods) by D. X. Luc
Flash Fiction #13

Flash Fiction #13

Posted on by
16

Thanks for stopping. Another picture…another 100 words.

He claimed her like he had the right. Sara was not likely to take his advances without a hitch. Any moment now she would push him away.

Bret continued to dominate her mouth. His fingers tugged at her hair and clamped onto her jaw. A tingle started in her mind and spread over her body while his mouth continued to plunder her own. His control held her firm, held her to him.

A corner of her brain reminded her of all the damn reasons she should pull away. Her shoulders tensed, but she couldn’t do it.

She gave into him.

Hope you enjoyed my flash today!! Don’t forget to follow the link to get to the other FFF posts. Flasher Fiction Friday. Or click away on the links below.

Savannah Chase http://www.savannahchase.com/blog
Julez S Morbius: http://morbiussworld.blogspot.co.uk/
Sherri Hayes: http://sherri-hayes.blogspot.com/
Bonni Sansom: http://bonnisansom.blogspot.com/
Naomi Shaw: http://midnightfantasieswithnaomishaw.blogspot.com/
Yvonne Nicolas: http://yvonnenicolas.wordpress.com/
Davee Jones: http://finless.blogspot.com/
Venus Cahill: http://www.venusbookluvr.blogspot.com
Leann Mitchell http://www.leannmitchell.blogspot.com
AuroraRose Andromeda http://rollingmuseintheroses.blogspot.com
Veronica Fredricks: http://authorveronicafredricks.blogspot.com
Patricia Logan http://naughtypassions.blogspot.com/
Cyril J. Michael: http://authorcyriljmichaels.blogspot.com

Spotlight: The Wager (Touch of the Gods) by D. X. Luc

Posted on by
6

The Wager (Touch of the Gods) by D. X. Luc

Released: May 4, 2012 ~ 228 pages

Blurb:

When love and war makes a little wager, what could possibly go wrong?

I am Hephaestus. God of inventions, blacksmiths, and volcanoes. Sounds like I’m awesome right? Well, I’m not. In fact, I’m the loser of Olympus and a new bachelor to boot. Living the single life is great until a decade passed. Honestly if my divorce from the Goddess of Love wasn’t bad enough, I am still being rejected by the other women of my home.

Because of an incessant need to make me a pawn in his game, my brother, Ares convinces Eros to make a little bet. A wager that puts my lack of love life to the test. Sent to Earth, I’m skeptical, when suddenly I lose myself in the sensual scent and beauty of the full bodied Vanessa. She is my everything, my perfection.

Sadly, from a single caress upon her silky flesh, I sent our lives into a downward spiral of hell. To save her, I must get beyond my demons of the past. And to save me, she will have to decide if I’m worth giving up everything for.

Bio:

An avid reader since I was a child, I never found a book I disliked. Mostly, you could find me lost in Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, or Ernest Hemingway, and my most favorite, Ancient Greek literature. Taking my love of books, I started writing poetry, short stories, and even helped with screen writes for my drama club.

By the time I was in my teens, my older sister introduced me to my first romance novel, The Hawk and the Dove by Virginia Henley. The moment I fell into the world of love, I was hooked, and my addiction for more grew until I found myself delving deeper into the erotic.

After being convinced that I had the skills to try my hand at writing, I went to work on my first story Down the Yellow Brick Road: Finding Home. And since being published, I’ve not looked back.

Now, as a busy mom of three, that homeschools, drives to activities, and manages to find time to just cuddle with my husband of ten years, I have to say, I love being naughty when I get the chance. It’s freeing and I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon

Six Sentence Sunday #23

Posted on by
33

Happy Six Sunday. Thanks for visiting and I’d love to know what you think!! I’m continuing this week with another 6 from my Novella WIP. Last week: Last week Lydia had no luck, more like no courage, rolling out her seduction plan. This week: we pick up with them getting off the train near Lydia’s apartment. A rushed stranger gives her the push she needs.

A swirl of arms and legs…momentum kept her moving…Jake’s fingers squeezed around her forearm as she flew past him towards the wall of the exit ramp. Her back landed with a thud against the wall, his body followed.

“Oh, sorry, I was pushed from behind. Did you see that guy?” She didn’t even pretend to look for the helpful stranger. Her eyes stayed locked on the man pressing into her body.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!! I’d like to know what you really think of my 6. I need the advice, I’m a newbie and have much to learn. Don’t forget to check out the other Six Sunday authors. Lots of good stuff at Six Sunday and its days are now sadly numbered. I’m not crying. Try to find a new favorite today. happy hunting!

Links of the week #24

Posted on by
3

It’s a week of transitions for me, but one thing that doesn’t change: I’m still learning tons from my blog reads. Good stuff this we folks. Hubs is getting another week off, but I’ve picked something for you.

Social Media

Thank you for this smart advice Rachelle Gardner : Should Unpublished Novelists Be Platform-Building it will most certainly help me to keep my priorities in order

Meghan Ward’s Writerland : Where to Get Photos For Your Blog

Janice Hardy on The Other Side of the Story : The Great Twitter Experiment: What Does “More Tweets” Really Get You?

Promotion

The totally awesome Savannah Chase was at Chris Redding’s : MFRW Summer Camp: Savannah Chase

Editing

I found this site from QueryTracker’s post Question: is anyone familiar with SmartEdit? It’s currently a free product.

Dialogue

Lynnette Labelle : The Secrets Behind Buried Dialogue Part 1

Fight Scenes

my fav Jenny Hansen posted twice at Writes In The Storm : Do Your Characters Fight in a Way That Advances Your Story? & Ramp Up The Fight To Amp Up The Tension

Music to inspire

The hubs was given another pass this week, another crazy gigging week for him. Don’t feel bad for him, he had a ton of fun, we just didn’t get to see a lot him, bummer.

I’ve picked “If You Want Me” by The Swell Season. Marketa Irglova’s voice is hauntingly beautiful, enjoy

Flash Fiction #12

Posted on by
11

Thanks for stopping. Another picture…another 100 words.

Not every bird brought frightening news, but the one piece she waited for had not yet arrived. Why hadn’t she given him a chance before the war? Oh, Melik. It took the death of many to rock her awake. Pain shivered through her limbs and she crashed to the ground. She rubbed her hands until the skin felt raw, matching her thoughts.

It was coming.

Just over the horizon, she felt the bird approaching. Her head fell into her hands and she yanked at her hair. Would she have one more chance? Just one more is all she asked.

Yes!

Hope you enjoyed my flash today!! Don’t forget to follow the link to get to the other FFF posts. Flasher Fiction Friday. Or click away on the links below.

Savannah Chase: http://www.savannahchase.com/blog
Sherry M. Palmer: http://michellechatton.blogspot.com
Naomi Shaw: http://midnightfantasieswithnaomishaw.blogspot.com/
Julez S Morbius: http://morbiussworld.blogspot.co.uk/
Venus Cahill: http://www.venusbookluvr.blogspot.com
Davee Jones: http://finless.blogspot.com/
Veronica Fredricks: http://authorveronicafredricks.blogspot.com
Cyril J. Michael: http://authorcyriljmichaels.blogspot.com
Yvonne Nicolas: http://yvonnenicolas.wordpress.com/
Kendel Davi: http://kendeldavi.wordpress.com
Bonni Sansom: http://bonnisansom.blogspot.com/

Six Sentence Sunday #22

Posted on by
28

Happy Six Sunday and Happy Father’s day. Thanks for visiting and I’d love to know what you think!! I’m continuing this week with another 6 from my Novella WIP that is currently lost in editsville. Last week: we’ve been watching Jake begin to roll out his plan. This week: it’s Lydia that’s trying to start her own plan. The pair have finally left work and are traveling on the L to Lydia’s neighborhood.

Why couldn’t the train jerk them around, like it usually did, and force their bodies to meet? He stood behind her. One step was all it would take and she could blame the train. Her free hand longed to hold onto his powerful thigh. The urge to lean back into him pulled at her courage.

The train came to her stop and her chance to touch him evaporated, the disappointment ran deep and sour.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!! I’d like to know what you really think of my 6. I need the advice, I’m a newbie and have much to learn. My WIP is in the middle of editsville and I look forward to querying with it soon. Don’t forget to check out the other Six Sunday authors. Lots of good stuff at Six Sunday. Try to find a new favorite today. happy hunting!

ROW80 check-in #23

Posted on by
4

Our last full week in round 2 is done. Almost half the year has gone. Do I have much to show for it? Yes and no. More about that later.

Happy Father’s Day!

My hubs is working in Chicago today and I wont be seeing my father either. Total bummer town. Both men know I love and appreciate them and I’ll have plenty of time to hug them in the days ahead. Still it is a bummer not to see them today. Are you going to get to see a father type person in your life today?

My next ROW-80 post will be my round 3 goals. Will they be different from round 2? Yes. I’m going to take my time thinking about what I want out of round 3. Hacking away at a to-do list is great, but in round 3 I want to keep an eye on my end game. More on that in a couple of weeks.

The Goals – week-11 results

  • Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done
  • Write 2,000 words each week– Done! Feels good too. This week I got 2,116 words in my brand new WIP.
  • Spend time editing at least 2-times each week– done. I got a couple chapters back from my CP and started editing again.
  • Finish reading current craft book and start another– 1/2 done. I spent more time on the current craft book and I hope to finish it long before round 3 begins, but I also have two new craft books already purchases and ready to go. Well, one is actually a lecture packet, I’ll tell you more about that in my round-3 goals. I’ll simply say Margie Lawson rocks.
  • Participate in Before You Hit Send Self-Editing Workshop in April– the workshop is over and I’ve incorporated what I’ve learned.
  • Turn 2nd-draft chapters to my writer friend for her critique– DONE!!  ~~~happy dance~~~
  • Workout a minimum of 200-minutes a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep and my calorie limit–  Not done. I have a very good excuse. A big ugly sinus cold hung out with me all week and most of the time I felt like doggy poppy. I’m surprised I got anything done this week. I did keep to my calorie limit, water, and sleep goals, but only got 80 minutes of exercise. I am, as of this week, 0.3 pounds away from my weight goal though, so that’s pretty cool.
  • Study one of the Nia 52-moves each week (the 52-moves is like the ballet bar for Nia lovers): Side Kick.  Lift your thigh, tucking your heel in toward your buttocks into Ready Position. Look in the direction you intend to kick. With your hands at heart level and your palms flexed, kick your foot out and to the side, with the side of your thigh facing toward the ceiling. IMPORTANT TIP: Push down into the earth with the supporting foot, and use your hands and arms to maintain vertical alignment and balance. Keep your supporting leg unlocked and spring loaded. Benefits: builds balance, coordination, confidence, and strength.
  • Finish the. Sanjana bars and start the Opal bars (i.e. studying the song/movement structure)– This item was my one total fail this round. Although I’ve found a way that works better for me to practice delivering the class, I’m still not any closer to knowing this routine inside and out. End goal for round 3 will be important here. I need to keep my eye on the big picture. Getting this routine inside me leads to applying for jobs, which leads to more income. I want to publish a book, but it is not my only goal in life.
  • Listen to the Nia sound track for the Sanjana routine each week and add Opal when I get to their bars– done
  • Plan out and start participating in the last of my needed continuing education credits for PMP certification– Done! I paid for and started my first course. I have 5 short courses to take this summer, or a total of 40-hours. Oh, yeah, I’m so excited about spending time getting continuing education credits for a career I hope to never have to work in again. The future is full of unknowns however. I did work my tookus off getting this certification, so I’m not about to let it go.

One novella WIP in edits, a second novella WIP is started (actually two WIPs are started, more about that in the next round), craft education continues and PMP continuing education in progress. Happy dance, lots done. BUT, Nia Sanjana still needs work and I’m not in query mode yet…I’m not published yet

Plenty of more work to be done. See you in round 3.

Links of the week #23

Posted on by
2

Happy Saturday and thanks for stopping by today. I’ve got some of my favorite links of the week for you, but I’ve given the hubs the week of from his music picks. He’s been working hard all week so I guess that’s okay 😉 Instead I’ve picked an audition from this years So You Think You Can Dance.

Love learning from folks who have been there and done that

Cassandra Carr : Thursday Thirteen 6/14/12- 13 things I’ve learned about writing

M J Wright gives 5 tips that have worked for him : Conquering that dreaded blank page

Prose

Roz Morris at Nail Your Novel : Repetition – a two-ended hammer

Ollin Morales was at The Bookshelf Muse : 5 Techniques for Adding Subtext to your Story

Social Media

Marcy Kennedy : The 9 Steps to Switching From WordPress.com to WordPress.org: Part 1

Query

Lisa Burstein : PRETTY AMY Original Query Letter AND Query Tips!

Plot & Character

Martina Boone at DIY MFA (great worksheets too) : Plot vs. Character: Leaving Room for Magic – Guest Post by Martina Boone

SYTYCD Season 9

Lots of memorable auditions this year. This one stands out because she’s a mommy who has not given up on her dream. Listen to her story, watch her beautiful moves, and stay till the end, because her daughter dances too.

What you might have missed here:

Six Sentence Sunday #21

Spotlight: Enchanted Spring by Josee Renard Excerpt & Giveaway

Spotlight: Never Say Just by Katie Harper ~ Q&A by the Rat Bastards

Flash Fiction #11

Flash Fiction #11

Posted on by
12

Thanks for stopping. Another picture…another 100 words.

Workouts usually cleared Sonya’s cluttered mind of garbage, but today it made it worse. How was she going to decide between the two men? One had the power and promise to save her people and her lands. The other had untapped potential and pulled at more than her heart. She didn’t dare risk everything her family died for. What could she possibly get back in return?

Love

Nonsense. It was known throughout the lands, only the weak choose love. A fat ugly tear rolled down her cheek and splashed on the table. Somehow she knew, love required more than strength.

Hope you enjoyed my flash today!! Don’t forget to follow the link to get to the other FFF posts. Flasher Fiction Friday. Or click away on the links below.